Resilient garment-supporting hoop and garment



c. s. SER vAAs RESILIENT CARMEN-SUPPORTING HooP AND GARMENT pril 20,1954 Filed NOV. 4. 1952 IN1/Ewan CorEn/n 5. Sep Wma,

Patented Apr. 20, 1954 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE RESILIENTGARMENT-SUPPORTING HOOP AND GARMENT Carena S. Ser Vaas, Indianapolis,Ind.

Application November 4, 1952, Serial No. 318,541

4 Claims. (Cl. 2-52) 1 2 This invention relates to an improved garthatsuch mid-portion is especially subjected to ment-supporting hoop and tothe combination the body heat, and will be especially subjected tothereof with the supported garment. This apthe relaxing effect whichoccurs in the presence plication is a continuation-in-part of my priorof body heat. In addition, the initial length of copending applicationSerial No. 27,745, led May the loop is such that in its normal initialshape 18, 1948. its end portions overlap a substantial distance It hasheretofore been proposed to support a along a flattened side of the ovalhoop, so that garment, such as an apron, by inserting through a thoseends are of reduced curvature or iiattened loop or casing in the garmentat the waistline with respect to the rest of the hoop, and upon thereofa bent spring such as a iiat metal spring 10 initial wearing engage thewearer with progreswhich may be placed' about the waist of the sivelydecreasing pressure toward the ends of wearer and retains itself and thegarment those portions, and so that such ends are subthereon by tightlyembracing the waist of the jected to a progressively decreasing extentto wearer, tension under the iniiuence of the body heat.

It is an object of my invention to provide an l5 By plastic material Imean the generally aC- improved garment supporting hoop. It is anobcepted current meaning of that term, indicating ject of my inventionto provide such a hoop which a rather broad class ofsynthetiathermosetting will initially fit the wearer comfortably withoutor thermoplastic, organic materials. The plastic cutting into the bodyat any point and which materials which I use have a number of advanwi11automatically adjust itself to nt its wearer 20 tages for use asgarment-supporting hoops. with a limited pressure or tension less thanits Thel7 are light in Weight, highly'leslleht, preinitial pressure ortension, which will be readily sent a smooth surface having little or noabrasive insertable and removable from the garment with or wear effecton fabrics, are relatively unbreakno tendency to wear or poke throughthe maable, are substantially inert so that they neither terial of thegarment, which may be removed or 25 rust nor corrode and produce noharmful reacleft in the garment for laundering as the user tion on theskin. They are not deformed by heat may desire and as the constructionof the garin the absence of sustained deforming force and ment mayrequire, and which will be readily adnot affected by water or by soapsor detergent, justable by the user to different sizes. so that garmentscontaining the hoops may be In accordance with my invention, I make thef laundered by usual home laundry methods. hoop of a plastic materialhaving predetermined They have a pleasing feel and warmth whichcharacteristics, and in a particular shape. The especially distinguishesthem from metal. In particular material used is a synthetic plasticaddition, such plastic materials have certain material characterized byhigh resiliency or properties which are peculiarly and especiallytendency to return to its normal shape after exadvantageous in a garmentsupport. A desired treme deformation, and characterized by its highresilience and low tension is readily obability to relax under tensionand moderate temtained in a strip of such material of relativelyperature to take a new normal position, so that large cross section andbody, i. e., the hoop can in use, in tension :about the Waist of thewearer, be made to be easily elastically deformable and and under theiniiuence of the body heat, it will 40 to have soft or loW-spring-.ratespring characterassume a shape and size to iit the wearer with a istics,which not only reduces any tendency for perfect lit while stillembracing the wearers the hoop to cut into the skin but which permitswaist with a limited pressure or tension suiiicient the cross section tobe rounded and permits the t0 hold the garment snugly and properly inplace. hoop to have bluntly rounded ends. The rela- Prior metal devices0f this type have been hohl? 45 tively large cross section and bluntends and 0l coiled 130 2, CllClllal Shape, Which S IlO Suited edgespermits the ring t0 be inserted in a, hem to obtain my improved result.A circular spring or casing in which it fits with a tight lit, withouttends to embrace the wearer w1t-h its tightest endanger of Cutting orpoking through the material gagement at the sides of the waist, and toengage of the garment and which tends to hold the the wearer onlyllghtly or 'not at all at the front, 50 garment in place on the hoopandlts ends tend t0 Cut Into tn@ wearer at the Among the Class of plasticmaterials, I prefer back. In aCCOl'daDCe With my hVehtOh I form to use acellulose acetate or cellulose acetate-buthe plastic hOOp t0 an initialOval Shape S0 that tyrate plastic or plastic materials of correspondfirmengagement occurs at the front of the ing characteristics, and I preferto use such ina- 4 lwearer and over the mid-portion of the hoop, so 55terials in an H hardness grade.

The initial shape of a hoop embodying my invention is desirably oval orelliptical, with the ends of the strip of plastic material overlappingover the major portion of one of the flattened sides of the oval andextending symmetrically in opposite directions from the minor axis ofthe oval. I preferably use an oval in which the major axis is from about15% to about 25% longer than the minor axis, and I overlap the ends overa length of about 25% of the circumierence of the normal shape or thehoop. The initial size of the hoop is such that on the intended wearerthe hoop will be resiliently opened to bring the ends out of overlappingrelation and desirably spaced an inch or two from each other.

To make such a hoop, I preferably user a strip of generally rectangularcross section having substantially greater Width than thickness,preferably with a width to thickness ratio oi about 3 to l, and of suchsize that it exerts a resilient pressure of about one pound between itsends when resiliently deformed to aV position, comparable to a normalrit position, in which its ends are no longer overlapping and areseparated from each other, say by about 4 inches. Illustratively, for amedium size hoop, use a strip approximately 23 long, formed to an ovalshape with its major axis about '7 1/2 and its minor axis about 5% andwith its ends overlapping about 5 along a ilattened side, and with thematerial about 1/5 inch thick and 1/2" wide, so that wheny the ends aredrawn apart a distance of 4" they exert a pressure toward each other oiabout one pound. Other sizes are of corresponding shape and have acorresponding overlap, so that the pressure between the ends when drawna apart remains at about one pound.

The accompanying drawing illustrates my invention. In such drawing,

Fig. l is a plan View of a hoop embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taxen on the line 2 2 o Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is a partial View of the upper edge oi' an apron with my improvedhoop in place in a hem or casing formed at such edge.

The hoop shown in the drawing is a hoop being sold commercially in largequantity. The hoop lil is made of a strip of cellulose acetate materialdesirably containing a minor proportion of white or other colored fillerand a minor proportion of plasticizer, such material being obtainedcommercially under the trade-name Tenite I. Hoops may also be suitablymade of cellulose acetate-butyrate plastic materials, such as thatavailable commercially under the tradename Tenite Il. Othercorresponding plastic materials may also be used. The plastic materialis extruded in strip form having a rectangular cross section about .165thick and about .500 wide, with slightly rounded corners. The strip iscut to length-about 24" for a "small size, about 28" for a medium sizeand about 33 for a large size. The lengths are so proportioned that theends of a properly ntting hoop will have no overlap when worn anddesirably will be spaced an inch or two from each other. The ends 23 and25 of the strip are bluntly rounded, as by mechanical stock-removingmethods. The strip is then heated, as to about 100 C., bent to shapearound an oval form, with its end-portions 22 and 24 overlapping about 4inches in a small hoop, or more, up to about 7 inches, in a large" hoop.The heated and bent hoop is then cooled, either artically or in the air,while held in the formed shape. Upon cooling it retains the formedshape, substantially without any spring-out from that formed shape. Theinitial formed shape is an oval as shown in Fig. l, with its major axisA 15% to 25% greater than its minor axis B and with its end portions 22and 23 overlapping along one nattened side and over about 25% of thecircumference oi the oval shape. Illustratively in the medium hoop themajor axis is desirably about 'i1/2, the minor axis is about 61/2 andthe overlap about 5".

The formed hoop will thus have a front portion 26 and side portions 23,with the iront portion of substantially less curvature than the sideportions 2e. It will also have rear portions 22 and 2t or" substantiallyless curvature than the adjoining portions or" the hoop and which arerelatively more attened than other portions oi the hoop.

When the hoop is placed about the waist of the wearer, it is resilientlysprung open to separate the ends 23 and 2b to permit those ends to passaround the waist, and the hoop is then allowed to move back toward itsnormal shape to resilientlf,7 embrace the waist. r)She ends E3 and 25,however, normally do not return to overlapping position, but are spacedapart by a distance of an inch or so. Initially, the hoop will desirablyembrace the waist with a tighter pressure than is desired. With the hoopunder tension, however, and influenced by body heat, the plasticmaterial relaxes toward a new normal position, so that the pressure onthe waist of the wearer is reduced to a relatively light tension. Uponremoval of the hoop from the waist it resiliently recovers from itswaist-embracing position, but moves to the new normal position andshape, somewhat larger than the initial size, and of a shape which willvary with the wearer. By reason of this relaxing under conditions ofuse, the hoop soon attains a condition in which, in subsequent use, itembraces the wearer with a limited pressure, dependent upon thecharacter of the material, and substantially independent of the initialshape to which it was formed. This result is obtained to give good fit,however, ir the initial shape is oval as indicated, and smaller thanultimately desired.

To support a garment such as the apron 30 on the hoop, as indicated inFig. 3, a hem or casing 32 is formed along or adjacent the upper edge ofthe apron 39, as with a standard hemming device on a sewing machine,with the hem of a size to iit tightly on the hoop, especially when theap-ron material is pushed together along the hoop in a gathering. Thehoop is then inserted by pushing one of its ends through the casing 32.Despite the relatively tight nt, the plastic with its large crosssection and rounded ends and its relative stillness is easily inserted,without danger of cutting or poking through the material of which thecasing 32 is made. Once the apron has been brought to the desiredposition on the hoop, with such gathering as may be desired, its tightfit on the hoop exerts a strong tendency to hold it in place, and nospecial provisions need be made to prevent it from slipping along thehoop or on the ends of the hoop.

If the user desires to change the shape or size of the hoop, the hoop issimply heated, as in hot Water, the heated hoop is then formed to thedesired shape, and held in the desired new shape while it is cooled, andit may be artificially cooled to hasten the re-forming operation.

I claim as my invention:

1. A garment supporter adapted to resiliently embrace the waist of thewearer and to retain a garment thereon, comprising a strip of plasticmaterial having blunt ends and being of uniform generally rectangularrounded cross section having a width to thickness relation of aboutthree to one, said supporter being shaped to a normal closed oval shapehaving a major axis about to about 25% longer than its minor axis, andwith the end portions of the strip parallel and overlapping along aflattened side of the oval shape for a distance of about 25% of thecircumference of the oval, and with the oval of a size to fit theintended wearer when the hoop is resiliently opened to a position inwhich the ends are spaced from each other, whereby said supporter may besprung around the waist of the wearer to resiliently embrace the waistand when so placed the initially overlapped end portions thereof willengage the waist of the wearer with progressively lighter tension towardthe ends thereof and the side and front portions of the hoop will lie inrm heat-conducting relationship with the waist of the wearer, said stripmaterial being characterized by the property of relaxing to a new normalshape under the tension imposed by said tight t about the waist andunder the influence of body heat.

2. A garment supporter adapted to resiliently embrace the waist of thewearer and to retain a garment thereon, comprising a strip of celluloseacetate material having blunt ends and being of uniform generallyrectangular rounded cross section having a width to thickness relationof about three to one, said supporter being bent and set to a normalclosed oval shape having a major axis about 15% to about 25% longer thanits minor axis, and with the end portions of the strip parallel andoverlapping along a flattened side of the oval shape for a distance ofabout 25% of the circumference of the oval, and with the oval of a sizeto it the waist of the wearer when the hoop is resiliently opened to aposition in which the ends are spaced from each other, whereby saidsupporter may be sprung around the waist of the wearer to resilientlyembrace the waist and when so placed the initially overlapped endportions thereof will engage the waist of the wearer with progressivelylighter tension toward the ends thereof and the side and front portionsof the hoop will lie in rm heat-conducting relationship with the waistof the wearer, said strip material being characterized by the propertyof relaxing to a new normal shape under the tension imposed by saidtight t about the waist and under the influence of body heat.

3. In combination, a garment having a hem adjacent one edge, a garmentsupporter adapted to resiliently embrace the waist of the wearer and toretain the garment thereon, said supporter comprising a strip of plasticmaterial having blunt ends and being of uniform generally rectangularrounded cross section having a width to thickness relation of aboutthree to one, said supported being shaped to a normal closed oval shapehaving a major axis about 15% to about 25% longer than its minor axis,and with the end portions of the strip parallel and overlapping along aflattened side of the oval shape for a distance of about 25% of thecircumference of the oval, and with the oval of a size to t the waist ofthe wearer when the hoop is resiliently opened to a position in whichthe ends are spaced from each other, whereby said supporter may besprung around the waist of the wearer to resiliently embrace the waistand when so placed the initially overlapped end portions thereof willengage the waist of the wearer with progressively lighter tension towardthe ends thereof and the side and front portions of the hoop will lie infirm heatconducting relationship with the waist of the wearer, saidstrip material being characterized by the property of relaxing to a newnormal shape under the tension imposed by said tight t about the waistof the wearer and under the influence of body heat, said supporter beingtightly received in the hem of the garment so that in normal use itstays in place therein but can be removed therefrom by exertingsufficient pressure.

4. A garment supporter adapted to resiliently embrace the waist of thewearer and to retain a garment thereon, comprising a strip of plasticmaterial having blunt ends and being of uniform generally rectangularrounded cross section having a width to thickness relation of aboutthree to one, said supporter being shaped to a normal closed oval shapehaving a major axis longer than its minor axis, and with the endportions of the strip parallel and overlapping along a attened side ofthe oval shape, and with the oval of a size to t the waist of the wearertightly and in rm heat-conducting relationship therewith when thesupporter is resiliently opened, said strip material being characterizedby the property of relaxing to a new normal shape under the tensionimposed by said tight fit about the waist of the wearer and under theinfluence of body heat.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 89,879 Mayenberg May l1, 1869 770,000 Fox Sept. 13, 19042,430,941 Long Nov. 18, 1947 2,495,436 Westcott et al Jan. 24, 19502,532,161 Gomberg Nov. 28, 1950 2,569,885 Drewry Oct. 2, 1951

